COUNTDOWN: 14 alternate Skybound covers to rock your world!

It’s not even nearly a year since Skybound first launched its Transformers series in October 2023, yet no one can deny the runaway success it’s already become in that time!

Regularly making a splash in the sales charts and prompting a huge amount of online excitement, the book has also been remarkably prolific in terms of cover art. With an almost unprecedented number of variants and exclusives, it surely must make it a minefield for completist collectors.

Anyway, here are but 14 favourites out of the many, many options besides!

WARNING! MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Transformers so far!

#14: Transformers #5 cover B (James Stokoe)

The Constructicons feel like a sizeable presence in the storyline so far despite not actually doing all that much outside of the events of #6 and their major rampage against the Autobots as Devastator! Still, this cover puts them front and centre as we see them being reassembled by Starscream using Teletraan I, much in the style we saw other Decepticons reactivated during #1. Bonus points for this one depicting an “off-screen” event and for being really rather gorgeous!

#13: Transformers #1 Seibertron.com exclusive (Marco Ferrari)

Sometimes, all you need for a great cover is a rather smashing line-up of suitably imposing bad guys, and that’s what this Seibertron exclusive delivers in spades. The blocky, exaggerated proportions are fab, as is the overall layout, but it’s those *colours* which truly capture your attention with this one.

#12: Transformers #1 6th printing cover (Mahmud Asrar)

We know Megatron is imminently on the way, and it’s not like his presence hasn’t already been felt, despite largely being absent from the overall storyline thus far (well, unless you’ve read that 2024 special…). Still, there’s something exciting about seeing him depicted in all his raging glory here, and going toe-to-toe with Optimus Prime in a way we will surely see during the pages of the book itself before too long.

#11: Transformers #4 cover B (Jonboy Meyers)

Whenever there’s cause for a wraparound cover, you know it means they’re cooking up something pretty epic, and so it is here, with an alternate #4 offering that also ended up gracing the Direct Market Exclusive edition of the Transformers Volume 1 collection. Featuring Optimus in his classic The Touch pose but now with a pretty hazardous molten scene behind him, this is a definite feast for the eyes.

#12: Transformers #1 Second printing cover D (Lewis LaRosa)

What was I just saying above about beautifully rendered Decepticon group shots with deliciously funky colouring? The composition of this effort is off-the-charts good, and the painstakingly painter-like quality of the art style is lush beyond belief. Top tier.

#9: Transformers #4 cover D (Sanford Greene)

I love Sanford Greene’s stylised pencils, so it’s a joy seeing him turn his attention to Transformers with predictably eye-catching results. There’s a distinct Marvel UK vibe to the proceedings here, somehow, though the use of text does also feel thematically in step with Daniel Warren Johnson’s approach to interiors. Fantastic.

#8: Transformers #3 1:25 retailer incentive cover D (Matías Bergara)

Matías Bergara applies his signature watercolour-esque style to this monumental match-up, the results of which have an almost Geoff Senior quality about them. Either way, it’s stellar stuff, and despite being one of the lesser-spotted covers in the Skybound repertoire, it deserves all the attention it can muster.

#7: Transformers #8 cover D (Ethan Young)

I should jokingly knock a point off this cover if only because it gave the game away for me concerning the identity of the mysterious Decepticon hiding aboard the Nemesis in #8, but really, when the art is as captivating as this, who’s complaining? Astrotrain is an exciting addition to the series, and Ethan Young’s work captures him wonderfully.

#6: Transformers #1 Condemned Comics exclusive (Christopher Mitten)

Christopher Mitten is an illustrator known for his work across Hellboy, DC, and plenty more, but this is the first time I’ve seen anything Transformers-related from him. On such evidence, I’d like to now see a lot more, because his rendering of Starscream taking flight is nothing shy of beautiful.

#5: Transformers #1 Things From Another World exclusive (Frédéric Pham Chuong)

Frédéric Pham Chuong is seemingly no stranger to Transformers, as any quick glance at his résumé will attest to. Still, he’s set a high bar here with his official Skybound debut, as both good and bad crews are rather superbly represented atop a synthwave-esque ’80s-style digital landscape. Superb.

#4: Transformers #1 San Diego Comic-Con Ashcan (Daniel Warren Johnson)

OK, full confession. This might be my favourite of the lot. It’s certainly up against some stiff competition, but despite hardly being the most flashy or action-packed scene, there’s just something so captivating about it – so wonderfully, purely *Transformers*. Sure, it’s essentially a robot and a human, but it’s chock-full of character and distils the essence of what makes these stories so delightful. One to hang on the wall.

#3: Transformers #8 cover B (Jorge Corona / Mike Spicer)

Wow. Just… wow. That was my honest reaction when I first clocked this cover, and with Jorge Corona now on interiors as well, rest assured we’re in for some real treats ahead. I love everything about it. No notes.

#2: Transformers #3 1:50 retailer incentive cover E (Nick Dragotta / Patricio Delpeche)

Here is another example which strongly evokes an earlier time in Transformers history. In this case, something about the composition really reminds me of the very first days of the Marvel series, somehow, especially the looming presence of Starscream and the flying background jets. Sterling stuff.

#1: Transformers #1 Felix Comic Art exclusive A (Daniel Warren Johnson)

Finally, there could be no other pick to round off this list, surely. I mean… just *look at this*. Absolute PEAK!

So that’s our list!

TTFN